Robert McCrum on books + Theatre | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/series/robert-mccrum-on-books+stage/theatre
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Midsummer Night's Dreaming: the RSC takes a smattering of Google fairy dusthttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/may/08/midsummer-nights-dreaming-rsc-google
An internet production of Shakespeare's classic comedy is not so much the RSC dumbing down as Google flaunting its cultural credentials – and that can only be a good thing<p>In last week's blog, about The Great Gatsby, several of you expressed anxiety about the liberties <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/may/06/the-great-gatsby-baz-luhrmann-reviews" title="">Baz Luhrmann's film</a> might be taking with Fitzgerald's text. Making a movie out of a novel – even a short one such as Gatsby – is always going to involve a violation of the material, a loss of nuance and subtlety, the cutting of characters and scenes, and so on.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/may/08/midsummer-nights-dreaming-rsc-google">Continue reading...</a>Royal Shakespeare CompanyTheatreStageWilliam ShakespeareCultureGoogleGoogle+InternetTechnologyWed, 08 May 2013 08:54:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/may/08/midsummer-nights-dreaming-rsc-googleRoyal Shakespeare Company/Royal Shakespeare CompanyMidsummer Night's Dreaming trailer - video
Photograph: Royal Shakespeare CompanyRobert McCrum2013-05-08T08:54:00ZEnglish literature's 50 key moments from Marlowe to JK Rowlinghttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/feb/04/english-literature-key-moments-jk-rowling
What have been the hinge points in the evolution of Anglo-American literature? Here's a provisional, partisan list<p>BBC Radio Three is currently broadcasting a fascinating series on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0147b49" title="">the &quot;50 key works&quot; of classical music</a>. This is a spin-off from Howard Goodall's BBC2 television series and its tie-in book, <a href="http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9780701187521" title="">The Story of Music (Chatto)</a>, and it crystallises – for the amateur listener – the turning points in the evolution of the classical tradition in the most enthralling way. Did you, for instance, know that Procul Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale contains a harmonic line that is pure Bach?</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/feb/04/english-literature-key-moments-jk-rowling">Continue reading...</a>BooksCultureChristopher MarloweWilliam ShakespeareJohn MiltonSamuel PepysJohn LockeWilliam CongreveDaniel DefoeJonathan SwiftSamuel JohnsonMary WollstonecraftWilliam WordsworthLord ByronEmily BrontëCharles DickensHerman MelvilleCharles DarwinLewis CarrollWilkie CollinsGeorge EliotRobert Louis StevensonOscar WildeThomas HardyJM BarrieJames JoyceTS EliotF Scott FitzgeraldGeorge OrwellIan FlemingJack KerouacMaurice SendakTruman CapoteWG SebaldAmazon.comJK RowlingTed HughesFictionPoetryTheatreJane AustenMon, 04 Feb 2013 12:30:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/feb/04/english-literature-key-moments-jk-rowlingHulton Getty/Murdo MacleodLiterary turning points ... Christopher Marlowe and JK Rowling. Photograph: Hulton Getty/Murdo MacleodHulton Getty/Murdo MacleodLiterary turning points ... Christopher Marlowe and JK Rowling. Photograph: Hulton Getty/Murdo MacleodRobert McCrum2013-02-04T12:30:12ZWhy Shakespeare never fails to&nbsp;get brains buzzinghttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/24/shakespeare-anniversary-neuroscience-robert-mccrum
The Bard's enduring impact is all down to neural excitement<p>Yesterday was Shakespeare's 447th anniversary. As with almost everything else about our national poet, this is disputed. All we can safely say is that he was born in Stratford, married, wrote or collaborated on about 40 plays, published some bestselling poetry, retired to Stratford, made a will and died, traditionally on his birthday in 1616, aged 52.</p><p>In contrast with this sketchy biography, Shakespeare's universal reputation as the greatest English writer – some say, greatest writer who ever lived – continues to resonate and inspire. Shakespeare plc goes from strength to strength. This spring has seen <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/nov/28/derek-jacobi-king-lear-interview" title="Derek Jacobi's King Lear">Derek Jacobi's King Lear</a>, one of the finest in memory. <em>The Merchant of Venice</em>, with Patrick Stewart in the title role, opens in Stratford in May. The bardolatrous RSC is even mounting a production of <em>Cardenio</em>, the so-called &quot;lost&quot; Shakespeare play from 1613.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/24/shakespeare-anniversary-neuroscience-robert-mccrum">Continue reading...</a>William ShakespeareTheatreStageNeuroscienceScienceBooksCultureSat, 23 Apr 2011 23:04:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/24/shakespeare-anniversary-neuroscience-robert-mccrumOli Scarff/GettyA painting of William Shakespeare, believed to be the only authentic image of the Bard made during his life. Photograph: Oli Scarff/GettyOli Scarff/GettyWilliam Shakespeare: 'like many geniuses, he seems always to have been at work'. Photograph: Oli Scarff/GettyRobert McCrum2011-04-23T23:04:03ZThe class pyramid of British literaturehttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/mar/22/class-british-literature-posh
Ian Rankin thinks crime novelists have been placed at the bottom of our literary hierachy. But who's topping the pile?<p>There's a new play, Posh, by Laura Wade, <a href="http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whatson01.asp?play=571">coming on shortly at the Royal Court</a>, that shows signs of waking up the dozing Cerberus of class in Britain. Especially with an election season looming, this rough beast never quite leaves the socio-political scene. As the theatre that premiered John Osborne's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Look_Back_in_Anger">Look Back in Anger</a>, the Royal Court must be taken very seriously when it stages this kind of material.</p><p>There's a kind of class structure in books, too. I was reminded of this by Ian Rankin's reported remarks to the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle on the subject of his status as a crime novelist.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/mar/22/class-british-literature-posh">Continue reading...</a>BooksTheatreCultureMon, 22 Mar 2010 12:01:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/mar/22/class-british-literature-poshDavid Levene/GuardianJK Rowling … the queen of the British literary class system? Photograph: David LeveneDavid Levene/GuardianJK Rowling Photograph: David LeveneRobert McCrum2010-03-22T12:01:42ZDavid Tennant is the greatest Hamlet of his generationhttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2009/jan/09/david-tennant-hamlet
Can I forget the drama that's surrounded David Tennant's Hamlet and engage only with the one that's on stage in front of me?<p>Is there a hotter ticket in town than <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/aug/07/theatre">David Tennant</a>'s Hamlet? I bought good dress circle seats last summer, the minute the RSC box office opened, and have endured a roller coaster of anticipation ever since.</p><p>First the anxieties. Would the production be just a TV celebrity vehicle besieged by teenage <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/mar/11/broadcasting.g2">Whovians</a>? Then the first night. Was Tennant up to the challenge? (Yes, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/aug/06/theatre.rsc">apparently</a> this Hamlet was the real thing.) Next, the news of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/dec/11/david-tennant-hamlet-back-injury">Tennant's spinal surgery</a>. Would he return? <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/dec/11/shakespeare-rsc-hamlet-david-tennant">Was Edward Bennett a worthy understudy</a>? Did it matter ? Isn't the RSC an ensemble company equal to such vicissitudes? Then the to-and-fro of Tennant's return. The company issued a press release: mindful of its star's convalescence, it was proceeding on a day-by-day basis. Friends and co-workers reported the latest news: yes, he was back, and better than ever. Charlotte Higgins <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jan/08/theatre">raved</a> in the Guardian, <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show-23574340-details/Hamlet/showReview.do?reviewId=23614450">Nick Curtis in the Standard</a> … The suspense was unbearable. Finally, last night, clutching a &pound;37.50 ticket probably worth &pound;1,000 on the black market, my friends and I filed out of the bitter chill of January London into the Novello. Was it possible to get past the drama of the long wait to the play? Could we just enjoy the show for itself?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2009/jan/09/david-tennant-hamlet">Continue reading...</a>TheatreRoyal Shakespeare CompanyCultureWilliam ShakespeareFri, 09 Jan 2009 15:45:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2009/jan/09/david-tennant-hamletTristram KentonAs good as they say: David Tennant as Hamlet. Photograph: Tristram KentonEllie Kurttz/PRRobert McCrum2009-01-09T15:45:02Z